To Save a Life

I have no air; no light and I can hear water around me. I am going to die, I know it. Even though I accept my death is coming I begin to wail. I cry and whine, and as I continue I feel the limited air around me disappearing. This makes me whine louder and louder.

Just when I think the air is all gone, I feel myself being lifted in the air. I try to whine but the air is limited and I am barely alive. I feel someone or something fiddling with the bag right next to my head. All of a sudden I can see light! I have never appreciated it so much. I am so overjoyed I try to jump out of the bag, but two things stand between myself and freedom.

First, I cannot move because of the excruciating pain I feel when I try to. Second, a face looms above me, peering in to my confined and smelly space. I draw back into my bag, scared and curious at the same time. I whine quietly and I hear a voice speaking in a way I had never heard before, "You poor thing. Come on, I'll take you home and see if I can help you."
I realize with a start that the voice is kind and gentle and the peering face is the one talking to me. I whine again to let this man know I trust him. "I know you're sore and tired but you can't go to sleep, you might never wake and that would be such a shame; you're really a very pretty thing." If I could laugh I would, but being so sore, and dogs not being able to the way humans do, I don't. The man must have read the look I gave him cause he chuckled and said, "I know you're probably not feeling pretty at the moment, but clean up the blood, dress the cuts and give you a bath and you would be the most handsome dog around. Maybe a nap would help you too."

Sleep; sounds like a plan. I could sleep and the pain would go… and disappear… I give a faint whine of approval and settle down to sleep. "Not now, you can't go to sleep yet, you might not wake up again". That would be good I think, the pain wouldn't come back and I could sleep… sleep…
All of a sudden a sharp jolt of pain shoots through my leg and interrupts my thoughts. I yelp and growl a bit. "I'm sorry, but I'm sure the bag is uncomfortable, so how about this nice warm blanket right here next to me, eh?" I stop growling as I realize the pain comes from the man picking me up out of the plastic bag that is confining me. He tries again and picks me up out of the bag. This time I only let a little whine escape; the man apologises as he places me on the blanket on the front seat of a car. I lick his hand in thanks as he pulls his hands away from my limp body. I smile weakly and I swear a tear escapes from his eye; he wipes his eye and busies himself making sure I don't move around too much.

He shuts the door gently and then appears on the other side of the car. He hops in and turns on the car; it roars like an angry tiger being denied its food and bursts into life. The man then sets off; driving in the direction I assume his home is.
The next thing I know, I am being carried into a lounge room with a homey and comfortable feel to it. The man sits down and a woman comes into the room drying her hands on a towel. "Oh, the poor thing!" she exclaims at the sight of me. She rushes over and immediately starts to gently wipe blood off my back with the towel in her hands. The man gently sets me down on one of the couches. I whine and she gives me a look of sympathy. I lick her hand, lie down and don't move. "Call the RSPCA, they'll help this poor dog," she says as she strokes my head and continues cleaning. I hear the man leave the room and walk somewhere.

When he comes back he has a phone and a wet towel in his hands. The woman takes the towel with a look of thanks. She continues to clean me while the man presses buttons on the phone and waits.
"Yes hello, I found a dog bagged and in a river and now have him at my home." He waits and then gives the person on the other end an address and hangs up. "They will be here as soon as they can." The woman nods and he helps her wipe me with the towel.

After a while the doorbell sounds and I whine at the sudden loud noise. She makes "shh" noises and he stands up and walks to the door. A woman comes into view and I swear she almost cries at the sight of me. "How long ago did you find him?" she asks, setting her stuff down on the floor and looking at me.
"About half an hour, can you do anything for him?" She shrugs and proceeds to check me over. The woman stops cleaning me and stands beside her husband. The other woman checks me over. I whine when it hurts and everytime I do she looks more depressed. I try to hide the hurt but she knows. She stands up and turns to the couple.

"I'm sorry; he was without care and air for too long…" She stops and wipes her face; "You found him, what do you want done?"

The man looks at his wife and she says, "Put him to sleep, I can't bear to see him suffer." The woman nods and goes to her box; she pulls out a needle and fiddles around with other stuff. She looks at me and rubs something on my side while she holds the needle there. She injects me with something and instantly I feel the pain subsiding. I whine gratefully and close my eyes. Before they close completely I see the wife hug her husband and say, "How could someone do that to an innocent animal?" As I listen I hear her voice drift further and further away and fall into a deep, deep contented sleep…